Young Atlantic salmon seen in three English rivers for first time in a decade | Fish
Young Atlantic salmon have been seen in three rivers in northwest England for the first time since 2015, marking a “significant environmental turnaround”.
The salmon species was declared critically endangered in Britain in 2023, but fish have been spotted in the Rivers Mersey, Bollin and Goyt, meaning they have managed to travel from the Arctic Circle to spawn.
An Environment Agency spokesperson said the body would undertake a new study into the distribution of salmon early next year, telling the BBC they were “very excited to see that the fish are spawning successfully, given the species’ critically endangered status”.
Salmon spawn in freshwater gravel beds and return to their home rivers after spending two or three years feeding in the Arctic.
Their survival in Britain has been threatened by various factors, including climate change, pollution and invasive alien species, with UK populations declining by 30-50% since 2006.
Mark Sewell, head of wastewater capture at United Utilities, told the BBC: “Significant stretches of rivers were biologically dead in the 1980s, but today they support thriving ecosystems and are home to a number of pollution-intolerant fish species. These species are recovering thanks to significant environmental change.”
Atlantic salmon are also threatened by river blockages such as dams. While they are able to travel up the Mersey to spawn in the gravel beds of the Bollin, which flows through Cheshire, and the Goyt, which flows through Derbyshire and Stockport, obstacles in other rivers block their path.
They cannot go up the River Tame because of its weirs or the River Irwell because of the Mode Wheel locks at Salford Quays.
Mike Duddy, of the Salford Friendly Anglers Society, told the BBC: “If we want to do something for our future generations, now is the time to build a fishway because a lot of people would like to see salmon return to the Roch and Irk, as well as the rivers of Bolton. »
The species declined in Britain during the Industrial Revolution, but recovered before being declared critically endangered again two years ago.
The Environment Agency spokesperson said: “We will undertake a new study of salmon distribution in early 2026, using eDNA sampling, to build an even better picture of the breeding range and assess the extent of recovery. »
